[SPOILERS] My very Own Skyrim FULL review

[nexusux]

So, here we are, almost a year after the game's release, with the first DLC on the go and with enough time for ppl to have finished it multiple times, and yet, I hadn't seen any really fair review of Skyrim, there were only reviews that would drool over bethesda and their falldown on the TES series like it was something good...

 

Originally, TES series were made for PC, which wasn't an option, but a need, since consoles would not handle any big and heavy games when the first TES came out, so our journey begun, I mean, for most, but not for me, I've never touched any TES game before Morrowind, but still, from what I've read and heard, people felt a huge jump from Daggerfall to Morrowind, tech wise and gameplay wise. I've tired my eyes on reading so many good things about TES 3, that I was easily convinced to play the game much after it's release, when I had already played Oblivion, and so my judgement over the series begun, but nothing that I would think was strong enough for me to go out and say something about the game, but after stepping into Skyrim, well, I felt an urge to scream out loud and kill the Game Designer, but I didn't, I rather got to know every inch of the game before judging it, since I had that with Oblivion and Morrowind. And so I did, for almost a year, and, with the help of tons of mods, I have actually tested every single thing in Skyrim, dungeon, quests, skills, gameplay, evolutional curve, every single thing is, at this very moment, known to me, and pretty well.

 

I'll be dividing this review into topics, but not game-wise, I'm going for a more in depth review using reference from older TES games, so I'll basically divide into those...

 

UI

 

So let's start, first and most important, TES V is a console game ported into PC, and there's nothing anyone can say that will convince me otherwise, because it is the TRUTH, TES V was never planned for PC, except for releasing it on the platform, the game it self was planned to attend a ridiculous XBOX Joystick. What difference this makes? Well, you all know it, the damned HUD and UI, is a nightmare for any experienced PC player, you actualy still have to pause the game (a flaw that came over from older TES games, but nothing we would feel into our bones), and you can't open more then one menu at a time, like I used to do on Oblivion, I can't look at character sheet and mess up with inventory, if any major changes are made into my character stats, well, I have to go through over nine thousand menu screens before reaching it, and THAT is the main issue with UI. In second in my podium for worse UI design, well, the menu system it self, with all those BIG texts all around, divided in a way it hurts the eyes to use, specially on PC where we could have something millions of years ahead of that Stone Age we were given. And for third place goes the FAV menu system, well, a big step from Oblivion in a way, and a gigantic step back from most short-cut systems we have in games since Diablo 2, or even Diablo for the sake of fairness.

 

Conclusion: Use mods, don't even bother with the vanilla system

TES V is the worst UI system ever seen by TES PC fans, but some have fixed that crap, there are mods for us to use over it, but it's still bad, it's still clumsy and annoying, even with the improvement from the mods, and so we stick into the game, because that isn't the most important thing on games anymore (the downfall from the last 5 years on the big title releases created this black hole, which I'm not sure if we are ever going to rid ourselves from again)

 

Kick-off and Freedom

 

As of what made most of TES series famous, the starting and freedom for your character determine the hardest and most bitter thing you have to swallow from Skyrim. You kick-off as a prisioner, but unlike other TES games, you are already forced into an rush feeling that you HAVE TO DO THE MAIN QUEST BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE, this was the hardest hit I've taken from Bethesda on this game, and it won't be fixed, ever, because they made sure it would be necessary for you to advance 50% of the side quests, so even with mods to get alternative starts, the game forces you into it in a way you cannot escape, causing glitches and sort if you don't rush into it, at least, up to the point that the main quest will mandatorily make your "role-play" turn it into a matter of most importance, more important than anything else in the game, because all the side quests feel like "oh, I can prostpone this, no urgency on it".

But it doesn't end here, you are pushed into the main quest, with a damned Dragon already showing up and destroying everything, I used to think that Kvatch was a bad decision, but Skyrim made me think otherwise, Helgen kick-off is the most depressing thing in all TES games together, anyway, not only u are forced into the main quest like a kid taking a beating, but you also are forced to create empathy with the Stormcloaks, once u are about to enter the tutorial area, well, if you have any role-play sense into your head, you won't go with Hadvar, you WILL follow Ralof, who, the devs made sure, recruits you on the spot for the Stormcloaks, no matter your race, gender or playstyle. They also made sure to make you hate the empire right from the start, and limited your background (which has always being imaginative) into something that would make you "CROSS THE BOARDER".

The most hard thing to swallow in the long run isn't even those things, but the lack of a Class system, this limits you into sticking with one playstyle for the rest of the game, but wait, depending on how you go through the tutorial, you won't even reach level 2, which means, you are as useless as the game can make you, you cannot start alchemy there, you cannot start enchanting (which was made almost necessary in skyrim), you can't start a merchant, and most and foremost, you can't start an archer up until u are already out of the cave. Also, you have a strong lack of perks, perks were existent on Oblivion, yes, but in a different system, you would gain them by reaching an specific level with each skill, so at 25 on any skill you would receive a boost to it, making it easier to direct the character, but in Skyrim you must LEVEL to get any perks, basically you are but a simpleton at the kick off, also forcing more limits into the character background.

So, Bruce Nesmith, in all your wisdom and brilliance, do oyu care to explain us what the hell are we supposed to do with this "more free system"? Better, what the f*** "freedom" means to you? You clearly need some classes about the subject...

Much further in the main quest, you'll also be forced into the Mages College guild, and will be almost forced into the Thieves guild, no matter what you do, and Paarthurnax

 

Conclusion: Even with the best kick-off mods, you will feel inclined not to play the game, simply because there's only one way to go. As Bethesda made it clear but never said it, you are to be a NORD STORMCLOAK, who has no class, you do a BIT of EVERYTHING when it comes to SKILLS, but also, you are MEANT to be a THIEF and a MAGE, not just a member, but the LEADER of BOTH GUILDS, by the main quest directing, so, there's no escape, to deepen it even further, you also are meant to be a Douchebag puppeteered by the Blades, who are the most annoying guys in the whole game when it comes to limiting your choices. And, if we add the Shouts to the list, well, you will be forced into all Guilds except for the dark brotherhood, in which you'll either join or eliminate.

 

Side-Quests

 

Well, Oblivion has it, and, Oblivion has it too, what about Skyrim? New game? Time to add right? WRONG, Skyrim has a really dumbed down version of side-quests because of the addictive use of Radiant system for most of it, not only making the side-quests almost completely generic, but also turning it into a repetitive wheel of boredom. Most of the things I get from the Side-quests, I don't use, most of the side quests, bugs me because there are actualy no choices involved, and once u hear about the possibility of that quest, well, u are now stuck with it forever, no alternative way to finish it on most cases, and you will face Radiant glitches, yup, I think they should be renamed for RADIANT GLITCHES... Anyway, most of them have a really incredible lore, an awesome potential, but they lack playability, they don't fit an Elder Scrolls game, at least, not after Oblivion, if you want to reintroduce something into a series, make sure you keep the good side from prequels instead of dumbing down the sequel, note that Beth... I really love most of them, since I keep playing this game, but they are that, nothing more than an Addicting and Immersive system, they aren't worth specific mentioning, so I'm doing a Radiant Review here...

 

Conclusion: Only way to endure those is using the Unnoficial Skyrim Patch, and, even tho, you will be forced to swallow some game changes you never wanted by those who made it

 

Daedric Quests

 

Awesome, most of them are exactly what I would've expected, except for Sheogorath, but hey, that doesn't matter, one bad daedric quest won't make me rage, but the rewards, well, most of the daedric artifacts are useless, unless you are really low level, which is impossible when u are forced to chose a stone that makes u lvl up to 15 in about 1 and a half hour of game, but hey, no problem, I am actually talking about the quests. Those have a unique feel, which should be used on all side-quests, but the lazyness from bethesda was so ultimate, that they decided to use Radiant thinking, Radiant developing and then we are stuck with a Radiant Game. Anyway, except for Sheogorath's quest, all other daedric quests feel awesome, unfortunately, the only side-quests which are really fun to play. As for the artifacts, there are only 2 notable, one is necessary if you are playing dawnguard and want to go as a Werewolf, which is the ring of hircine, good ring, badly applied(before dawnguard it was useless, just as the Beast Form was so ridiculous that you could die for mudcrabs if u had but only a few HUMAN corpses around), and the other is, tatarara: The Black Star, whoaaa! THE BLACK STAR!?!?!? Yes, it is, in fact, the best of the artifacts, right after the Skeleton key, which you are unable to keep due to stupid design decisions(whoa, that surprised me), and just because it is glitched, doesn't make it THAT better, you will actually face so many people in skyrim that the Black Star will become almost a MUST HAVE, and it is extremely usefull at any point.

 

Conclusion: GO FOR IT, BUT DON'T MIND THE REWARD, YOU WILL AT LEAST HAVE FUN ON THE PATH INSTEAD OF THE CONCLUSION

 

Magicka:

 

Well, if not the bad thing about Skyrim by many, for me, it's just another prove that the Lead Designer is a retard. But, what can I do? Well, mods, the only way to make the magic system in skyrim worth something is by using mods, or, rather specific perk tree spending to even use them, and here is the biggest dillema for me when it comes to play a wizard, it is possible, but you will lack a lot of things, if you chose to be a mage, you shall not have Illusion tree fully open, you shall not have Conjuration tree fully open, you will have Destruction tree fully opened with Restoration and Alteration, and that, my friends, forces you to leave any utility perk trees behind, but hey, don't worry, it's just another way to destroy any freedom you used to have in TES, that's the way of the future, that's the way of Bruce Nesmith, ALL HAIL BRUCE...

 

Conclusion: Many less spells, extremely narrowed gameplay. You must use Magic Mods, Midas is a good start, but there are many to make it feel more Vanilla like, DON'T EVEN BOTHER PLAYING A MAGE WITHOUT MODS, YOU WILL GET PISSED!

 

Evolutional Curve:

 

HOHOHO! The major flaw on most TES games, is back, a little better, but it IS DEFINATELY BACK! AWWW YEAH! Just don't worry, it isn't game breaking, but, you will find yourself really limited, and, unable to play peaceful characters, why? Well, the perk system, it's good in a side, but the way it is implemented made it a nightmare! You need perks to use things, basic thinking, you won't be able to kill even a mudcrab with a one-handed weapon if you are lvl 20 and has not purchased at least the first perk on the tree, no matter the level of the skill, it will be useless without perks, same goes for most things, but that isn't GAME BREAKING, just fun breaking, so they approved it (insert the positive thumb Fallout image here) Anyway, maximizing all skills to reach level 81 is almost suicidal, without mods or difficult changes. or even cheating your level back to 1, anyway, the game is annoying to play once u have reached lvl 100 on all your major skills, why? because you are now stuck, you either suffer your way up to 81, or, you just quit the game(finish all quests first). Despite this talk about perks, I also would like to give some attention to a few glitchy dungeons like Dustman's Cairn, well, if you reach lvl 9 or 10, don't do it, you will have to face not one, not two, BUT EIGHT Draugr Deathlords with EBONY WEAPONS, when you badly handle one, well, that's the game, THAT'S THE BEST, THAT'S Bruce Nesmith people, please, let's applaud him!

 

Conclusion: I strongly recommend mods to change it, please, go for more perks mods, go for fixes for buggy dungeons. Don't bother with the vanilla if you intend to play this game for more then one playthrough, even so, don't expect a great experience each time, the game is bad

 

Ending:

 

The ending of Skyrim is, mediocre, well, when I say mediocre I mean, we all knew there were going to be DLCs, we all knew the game, in a sense, was meant to be played after the main quest, but when it is over, you feel like, TILDE QQQ -> START -> SEARCH -> SKYRIM -> UNINSTALL. The game feels like an generic adventure game more then RPG, you sure immerse into it's universe, but you don't immerse into playing it anymore, you are done, zip zap, nothing else to do, no more things to have fun with, except if you haven't gathered all shouts, to at least use a full version of each, before quiting... You have seen sovngarde, you are the f****ing Dragonborn, THE ULTIMATE HERO, IN TWO HUNDRED YEARS, but yet, you are not recognized by your effort, there's not even an armor for your TRIUMPH (Oblivion made me laugh with that, y in hell's would I need an armor at that point lol). Anyway, I don't feel heroic at all, not even powerful, when the main quest is done, sure, I can call a dragon and three versions of spirits to fight for me, but what's the point? I thought, on the first playthrough, that I would actually unlock an AWESOME shout over that Wall in sovngard, silly me, Bruce Nesmith had made it clear, this game isn't meant to be played, it's meant to be BOUGHT! AWWW YEAAH!!!! So, if you've ended the main quest, ended the major side quests, you can quit, don't bother with minor ones, they are all the same, and have no fun, you also are stuck with that limited playstyle, Perks on you boy!

 

Conclusion: Wanna keep playing? MOD YOUR ASS LIKE CRAZY, go for quest mods, like, Ornarol's Fate, and such, they are good, they give you nice buffs, they do what Beth should've done, they rock, beth sucks

 

Dawnguard:

 

Ooooo, good vampire, come here, I have a blood crack for ya! Ladies and Gentlemen, Dawnfall, Dawnguard srry. Well, showed real promise, but it is so gitched, that you can't even see what it was meant to be, also, the vampire lord is a joke, it's either TOO OP(on normal) or too stupid(on Master), the gameplay is awful, again, made for consoles, just as horse riding and werewolves having no 1st person, you are stuck with this stupidity, because someone loves our good'ol Gears of War playstyle, right Mr. Nesmith? Anyway, it is bad, it adds content and hours for more distracting time from the vanilla flaws, overwhelming you with DLC Flaws, I see what you did there Beth! d-.ob I see it! Well, I don't really have much to say except that it IS EPIC to use Bloodencrusted arrows on the sun or elven blessed arrows, and, that the items introduced are the most badass I've seeing on Skyrim, but, reminding me what a crap game I had just played each time I've found some awesomeness in the game itself, also, this isn't really Dawnguard business but, again we were let down by Beth, with that Knetic shouting, if you never tried THUUMIC or the KINETIC, don't you will get addicted to it, and THUUMIC doesn't support dawnguard yet, and none of your shout mods, so, you will be frustrated, and, won't use the new Dawnguard shouts, EVER, if you already addicted yourself into voice shouting... Anyway, no matter what you do in Dawnguard you'll only have HALF the Content, meaning, if you side with the Good Doers, you will have crossbows (2 with enchanced versions of each), and three new unique items, one that doesn't make any sense(the shield is light armor, what?), and new spells, restoration spells with destructive EFFECTS ON UNDEAD, BEST SPELLS on ALL SKYRIM, damned bethesda... Anyway, and, if you go badass, you will be a vampire lord, and, that's it, u get artifacts to enchance your transformation, but forget aobut leveling, you will be forever playing as one once you reach it's high end play, once u are a fully grown vamp playboy, who lives in a castle, that can never be reformed (stupid), anyway, you won't be getting any of these awesome vamp spells without transforming, which makes the DLC even less attractive imo, and I don't think it's that good, altho, lore-wise and immersion-wise, it is DAMN AWESOME...

 

Conclusion: Do it, but don't expect it to fix the flaw that Skyrim was, it is just as flawed itself, but it is new, and will sweeten the game at least for a while

 

Downsides

 

Skyrim is the worst TES game ever, with the best graphics, best technology and best immersion, as an RPG, it is crap, completely worthless and it isn't worth your time, if that's what you want, if you can break that barrier tho, you can and will have fun, but not for as long as you had with Oblivion or Morrowind, mods can't fix it because most of the crapy choices is hardcoded.

 

Upsides

 

We have Nexus, is the first upside, other than that, High immersion, great graphics, and awesome dialogues.

 

Neutral-sides

 

Main quest story might please you or repulse you, so, try not to judge the whole game just for that, it is really big you know?!?!?!

 

SCORE

 

AND THE SCORE IS:

 

Bruce Nesmith

 

Intepretate it as you will, I refuse to give a numerical score for a game that has being, apparently, an Egocentric project from a Lead Designer, too many changes, most don't make sense, so that is that...

 

I still love Skyrim, but not as close as I love Morrowind and Oblivion, and "DAMN THOSE CONSOLE PLAYERS TO OBLIVION. THEY WANNA BACK THE BRUCE NESMITH'S, THEY'LL GET WHAT'S COMIN' TO 'EM."

[Satorinu]

I read through a majority of it. It's always good to voice your opinion and this is the place to do it really, but as with opinions comes MINE :ohdear:

 

Firstly:

I have kept the standard UI and I don't mind it <.<

I have enjoyed Skyrim FAR more than vanilla Oblivion but about EQUAL to modded Oblivion, both have failed to surpass Morrowind however hope does not dwindle for Morroblivion was released in stable condition with working quests, and Skywind is on it's way.. so soon we'll have Morrowind+Oblivion+Skyrim on the skyrim engine. Then, I can rank SKYWIND atop Morrowind, mwahaha.

 

Secondly:

Regarding the skeleton key and forces choices, your not forced :P

I chose not to give up the skeleton key once, just never went back to the guild's main quest.. eventually I slaughtered the thieves guild because a thief got me shot by a guard's arrow and nobody apologized. Well, in my defense, I envisioned more depth in that particular story but really it was just a reason to justify being a evil prick. So while you are technically forced into certain choices, you really aren't; since .. you can just kill everyone and so skew you! Oh.. and mods salvage a few of these issues.. I think the wholes blades thing is averted via a mod that lets you choose, you know, not to, do stuff. Not positive on that, but I could.. swear.. it's somewhere here on the nexus.. anyhow, originally yes, it's annoying to be forced into certain situations and perhaps why I'm so evil in the game, because you aren't forcing a Dovakiin to do **! , and mods salvage the leveling system and such, ect, so all in all I agree though at least SOME amount of option is there unlike other games :D (Ahm, selling my soul to continue certain quests.. Ha..ahahahah... No. I'll just kill these two and you and your missing [cough] is just gonna stay missing! ~.o)

 

My current playthrough sort of proves the point, since I have around 50 mods now which basically the difference is, the difficulty is ramped up to dark souls level (80% health in one hit if you don't parry block sort of thing, and the AI is smarter, flanking and blocking often, more accurate and smart about power moves.), with Frostfall for freezing to death and ICN for food/sleep/hydration to make it all the more hardcore, I avoid the Main Quest altogether through Alternative Start so I never even learn shouts xD I almost became leader of the Mages Tower.. then said screw you all and killed everyone save a few who I turned into thralls so the item stayed in the main room, you know what I mean. I don't spoil : regardless it's my new vampire home. Became leader of the dark brotherhood, cause I wanted to, and practically wiped out all of that stone city built by the dwarves (forget.. the name.. I can't.. remember.. ugh!) during the mines-escape with the Forsworn xD .. and proceeded to kill those I escaped with AFTER just because I'm not a good person in this particular go.. rarely am.. I'm a horrible, horrible human being; but it's all skyrim's lack of choices fault.

 

TL:DR Agreed on most every point except that I have no issue with the UI :P , at least to some degree. Mods make Skyrim. Hail modders. Ect. Skywind is my hope for the future. :)

 

OT: Side note.. I just relized I have NEVER finished the main quest.. I think I have done every side quest, found every special item, been to every dungeon and worn out my welcome at every hold, modded the game to hell and back but I still have .. NEVER.. .. nope.. NEVER... in probably 500-1000 hours of gameplay .. EVER.. captured a dragon for the reach, stopped there, and have never went further.. my gawd.. no wonder I still can play the game, I left something untouched and it still never crosses my mind to do it xD so it's just there in the back of my mind there is something HUGE I still haven't done.. oh it's the main quest, well that's AWESOME .. but.. not right now, more bandits to kill.

Edited August 30, 2012 by Satorinu

[wuffser]

I agree with you whole heatedly on a lot of the points you made. To further the issue the only characters that I actually cared for where the dragons (The friendly ones anyway), and they had no facial expressions to note and they had more power and conviction than over half the cast.

 

But I disagree with a couple things. The first being the main quest the sense of urgency and force made me pay more attention to the quest at hand, I was far less likely to actually get distracted and got involved with the story a little more. The issue I had with oblivion was because there was no sense of urgency no emphasis on the situation at hand. It had no weight, no gravity, no drive, and it did little to carry me forward. For skyrim the main quest FELT like a main quest. Of course it feels like it's borrowing from JRPGs than anything else. Also most of the things you complain about can be avoided for example when looking for esbern you actually have the option to talk with 3 other people each with the same info.(Again delphen sucking at being useful) and even if you talk with him you can just back out of the conversation without saying a word and he'll back off (The quest won't even trigger either if I remember).

------------------------------------

The main problem with Skyrim to me is that it lacks depth. It lacks planning, cunning, and logic like the others do. Here is only a couple of glaring failures to balance game and immersion/realism.

 

UI is bad even for consoles with a horrid organization, button mapping, no hotkeys (Even though they have room for 8 of them), no quick search, no instant top or bottom list buttons, No subcategorization for armor and weapon types in the smithing menu. No organization whatsoever for favorites. No quick select for switching between equipment sets. No warnings for when you are selling, smelting, or disenchanting Favorited or equipped items.

 

It introduces a follower within the first stages of the main quest but they never implemented a proper follower system nor did they add spells that healed and buff spells for others, or allow followers to reach the same level cap as you, or even add perks to help make followers actually useful, didn't help that friendly fire kills them but doesn't even scratch you.

 

Speech has a number of possibilities, being able to actively partake in the world, and opening up new choices, and options for quests and people. Being able to cheer on followers, taunt enemies, sell gear to any passing npc, improving shouts, gaining more from books and people teaching skills.

 

Spouses being able to marry but only a few actively serve any useful purpose and that's on the battle field. All the stay at home types only cook meals and open a shop regardless of their previous occupation before marriage.

 

Unable to do certain things simply because you didn't choose that field. Didn't choose lockpicking? Can't open anything locked even if you have a whole arsenal of alternatives at your disposal. Didn't choose smiting? Unable to actually get anything of actual use until much later in the game, or do specific quests, level up and get it off some random bandit. Rather than make a request for a weapon or armor.

 

Make a loose exp system that doesn't differentiate combat and non combat skills. Allowing you accidentally make the game unbeatable because you over-leveled with alchemy.

 

Allows gay marriage but only allows charming of the opposite sex.

 

Heavy and light armor are the same except light armor is faster and well lighter.

 

Allows for adjustment of difficulty on the fly (even in combat). But never tells you that it also rearranges the difficulty spikes (or dips) in the game world. One dungeon will be hardest on the easiest setting, easiest on the hardest setting.

 

They never got rid of the level based item placement (Having glass weapons on bandits), one of the few bad features in oblivion.

 

Player had access to all power attacks from the get go when in all the previous ones you had to actually level up said skill before animation became available and also changed existing ones to be faster and less clumsy. Skyrim removes this and simply makes the attack animation faster.

 

Removes unarmed, unarmored, acrobatics, and athleticism. But has two categories for lockpicking and pickpocketing two essentially useless skills apart but handy useful together. The abilities that the other 4 earlier skills would have done wonders as one big perk tree.

 

Completely take out utility spells (Walk on water, flight, levitation, feather fall) but add a whole bunch of places where they would actually come in handy, vertical dungeons, realistic looking and scalable mountains.

 

No head tracking even though it is demonstrated by other npcs constantly and even the player at the character creation screen.

 

The list goes on for someone who is a fan of the previous games they would rage hard. But to a person who has never, or rarely touched another Elder scrolls game this would be one of the best. For me it was a mixed bag. I love Skyrim it has a better overall design and feel than Oblivion. But all these little screw ups in game design (Coupled with a BILLION bugs, glitches, and poor optimization) really pile up. But the one thing you need to acknowledge. The one thing you or any older fan do not seem to get is time. This game has a number of flaws VERY similar to the ones in early vanilla Oblivion. And only time will heal these screw-ups in the future. Whether through mod or official release is all up to chance

[nexusux]

Loved the feedback, All those points you've made are completely valid, and I didn't talked about them, unfortunate, and careless from my part. But as for fixing it, most of this perk system is hardcoded, no modder was able to fix that so far, only a few mods can actually improve it, but there are no major improvements, only workarounds... I miss class system, a lot, and I miss auto-perking as u lvl the skill, why in hell shouldn't we at least gain dmg boosts for free on weapon trees? I'll never get it... And I miss skills like those they've cut out, they make the playstyle narrowed for a warrior type, forcing you to either go stealth or open-chest... Saddens me, and bored me after my 350+ hours in this game, as I've never managed to make the builds I would use in Oblivion, for example(for magic characters I mean).

 

Also, it is impossible to go Monk in Skyrim

Edited August 30, 2012 by nexusux

[Satorinu]

Loved the feedback, All those points you've made are completely valid, and I didn't talked about them, unfortunate, and careless from my part. But as for fixing it, most of this perk system is hardcoded, no modder was able to fix that so far, only a few mods can actually improve it, but there are no major improvements, only workarounds... I miss class system, a lot, and I miss auto-perking as u lvl the skill, why in hell shouldn't we at least gain dmg boosts for free on weapon trees? I'll never get it... And I miss skills like those they've cut out, they make the playstyle narrowed for a warrior type, forcing you to either go stealth or open-chest... Saddens me, and bored me after my 350+ hours in this game, as I've never managed to make the builds I would use in Oblivion, for example(for magic characters I mean).

 

Also, it is impossible to go Monk in Skyrim

 

As a review of vanilla what I'm about to say doesn't really help, but worth noting if you don't already know about them!

 

Do check out ACE, Monk is possible (I think.. vaguely that there is enough melee damage + robes = light armor but you will still want to get heavy armor gloves for the +20% damage with it *I THINK* .. I have never really played that portion to any degree to say for certain but it's certainly worth looking into!

 

The perk tree is revamped through ACE aswell -- revamped -- not totally ripped apart, the smithing tree by far was THE most interesting, what it does is you need I believe.. 6 perk points put into the bottom 6 teirs (two are light with different purposes, two heavy, and one is for improving armor one is for improving weapons.. and as you *LEVEL* in smithing, it adds perks automatically of which are quite a few perks, a lot more than vanilla, but you never have to spend perk points for them, and instead just have to activate the bottom tier of the line, and once your skills match the requirements it adds those you should have access to.

 

So what your hoping for is absolutely possible, if you convinced a modder to look at ACE's perk tree system and revamp it for more automatic additions I suppose, hell, it may be done already.

 

ACE also did quite a few other changes to the perk tree of course, Speechcraft is vastly different, one tree adds buffs to companions the more you invest, for instance, and still takes less perks overall to finish. Heavy armor tree is freaking massive in perk costs but your not suppose to try to go for everything, I mean two perk points lowers the casting costs and drawbacks (20% I think) for being a heavy-magecaster.

 

Lockpi--- oh skew it, go read about it :P it's awesome! Revamps everything, for the most part.. even mage--- ok, gotta stop >;3 It's awesome, end!

 

and it's all quite balanced when you combine all the plugins it offers, and is friendly with other mods that I've found.

 

Lastly, search the Nexus for the Class system you wished for, it's released, and so is a stat mod (str,dex,end,ect) .. recently posted a link to the stat system in another thread.. ugh, dun wanna look.

Edited August 30, 2012 by Satorinu

[wuffser]

Actually It's not hard coded. The perk system itself is hard coded. You can add a whole bunch of new perks, and completely rework the originals into something more suitable. In fact there is are several working unarmed systems some with full animation replacers that adds the whole set of power attacks (which heavily implies that they could have added full unarmed combat but refused to do so in the end >:( ). They've already added an oblivion class system that you choose, level uncappers that allow full control over how you level up. An in depth economy system that effectively stops the "no smithing no cool stuff" issue. They added smash locks option, combine and strengthen potions and poisons,unlocks for alteration, levitation, flight. Multiple in depth changes to the follower system, reverse pickpocketing,harder combat, better difficulty balancing, deadlier monsters, unsafe fasttravel/wait/sleep,better weather, more items, better more varied smithing/enchanting/alchemy system, hotkeys for Xbox 360 controllers. And by "they" I mean modders.

 

All this within the first 2 years of of skyrim. This is the reason why I think some of your claims against skyrim are a bit biased. Unlike the previous ones this has a better overall design, cleaner, smoother animations, more precise natural physics. Oblivion was too floaty(just like its main story), its animations stiff and limited, same with Morrowind only more so. It needs time to grow and develop and as far as I'm concerned skyrim actually has a class system (Believe it or not it is there) it's just not really applied to anyone but the game it self does. If I remember it refereed to combat style, same as how race determines different categories of npcs (Like the children and elder races).

 

In many cases skyrim has already patched up it's most glaringly obvious flaws. And besides Oblivion and Morrowind also have their fair share of fails. Both where essentially unplayable under certain circumstances. And required tons of required downloading after purchase to maximize performance and enjoyment. Oblivion wouldn't nearly be as awesome without proper mod support. It got the ire of many morrowind players and in time it earned it's place.

 

The one thing I liked about skyrim is that it cleaned out all the clutter. The sheer number of entirely useless fortify whatever spells, the one billion and one different strength levels for healing and debuffing enemies. Very confusing and a lot of the mystism spells made more sense in other schools. Kind of makes sense from lore based stand point. The only thing they screwed up on was figuring out what was clutter and what was necessary.

 

Time is all it needs

[nexusux]

Yup, but that's my point, Beth downgraded the level Skyrim could have, and it was left for modders to fix, most quests are still glitched, requiring the Unofficial plugin, there were tons of cut offs that actualy took place after they had made the guide, and for what not, we still don't know which perks do what, an example being the "Aspect of Terror" giving dmg buffs to Destruction spells, I mean, doesn't make any sense to me, and it should've being better planned...

 

They have copied over many "clutter" stuff that add imersion from Oblivion mods, like the Marriage system, and it is completely useless, while they've cut off really important skill trees, spells, etc...

 

To me it was a really large pile of bad decisions that made the game incomplete, so far I didn't had not even half the fun I used to had in the older games, I've bein trying to find ways to fix the issue, just to figure they will feel, even heavily modded, out of place, glitch or even unappliable.

 

There is an alternate start that adds class system, but it's badly shaped and isn't loyal to the original classes, for example... I miss athletics and acobatics, as they would allow fights where you would need the scenario to help u with, you would be able to run from the fight, or even climb your way to shoot arrows on heads, in Skyrim, there is no running from fight, Orcs have the same speed as Wood Elves, which doesn't make any sense, and so it goes.

 

I'm not bashing the game, I'm just heavily uncomfortable with it, because I really wished I could repeat the experience I've had in Oblivion / Morrowind on it, which saddens me =(

[wuffser]

Oh don't get me wrong I totally agree with you. The game is great but deeply flawed, riddled with poor decisions and lazy absentminded programming.

 

A huge let down from the previous game. Shame too, design wise it is the best looking, the design for each race is actually decent none of them looking laughably bad. The animations are smooth and well done. Physics precise and more realistic.

 

Best design, Better balance between numbers and player coordination, Best physics engine, Better overall dungeon design.

 

Basically it's the prettiest and easiest of the series. It is much easier to get into the world of skyrim than the others both gameplay and roleplay wise.

 

Love it to death though. :thumbsup:

 

Edit: But I also can't help but feel they are relying a little too much on the modding community to fix all their apparent screw ups. All these very obvious flaws that even someone with no knowledge in game design would at least consider fixing. Why? :confused:

Edited August 30, 2012 by wuffser

[gsmanners]

I can condense my review a bit better:

 

Skyrim is like that annoying kid who likes to yell "look at me" and then does the same annoying cartwheel for the fiftieth time, but on a grander scale. I think maybe it's more appropriate to compare Skyrim to a man who just learned to juggle three balls, so he then picks up seventeen running chainsaws and tosses them into the air. I think we all know how this is going to turn out, right?

 

It's like a plane crash or like a toppling building. It's horrible and shocking, but you can't look away.

[TheUninvitedGuest]

most quests are still glitched

 

I'm afraid I'm going to have to jump in singing a different tune to most in this thread. I was happy to "lurk with frustration" but I have to point out that suggesting most quests are glitched is grossly unfair. I would suggest that the amount of quest-based content in skyrim that has a glitch severe enough to impact upon its playability would be far closer to 5% than 50%.

 

Lets put it this way:

 

Before Skyrim came out I had never played a TES game. Infact I barely played games on a computer (I was always more of a web geek). My experience of RPG games was Mass effect and Fallout 3 on the xbox. Other than Minecraft, Starcraft and the Portals, Skyrim was the first game I played on the PC. All my friends were raging about it in the run up to its release - pre-ordering collectors editions and so on, whilst I was left somewhat bemused as to the hype.

 

I was bought the game - clocked 120 hours without blinking (though my girlfriend did blink - very severely at times she tells me hehe) and went on to buy both Morrowind and Oblivion, read both books and as much of the lore as I can find. I'm officially an addict.

 

People say Morrowind was better than Oblivion, and Oblivion was better than Skyrim. This is true of a huge number of video game franchises I can think of. Deus Ex for example, or Mass Effect>2>3. Its so Cliched it almost needs to be described in terms of cliches (can I get a broken record).

 

I think Bethesda did a fantastic job of keeping the magic of TES alive through skyrim, and bringing it to a whole new audience. Here is why:

 

- People forget that video game companies are businesses. They do make products that are very close to their users' hearts, and because of this I agree that users should have a substantial impact on said products' creation. However, in order to make these products at all the decisions made throughout the design process have to be made with turning a profit in mind. The console market is far more profitable than the PC market from a games making perspective (with some notable exceptions like RTS games and MMOs) so of course Skyrim is a console port. Redesigning the game experience a large amount for PC users would have amounted to two things; Skyrim would have had a delayed launch for PC (which would have had you all Spitting teeth I suspect) and would have required a far greater amount of work further down the line to maintain multiple distinct experiences. As it is Bethesda has patched a number of issues, released the Creation kit, Workshop (I know that is more to do with Steam) and the High Res DLC. These graphical enhancements and the ability to 'play your own game' are clearly hat tips to the strengths of the PC user.

 

- Bethesda created a huge, beautiful, relatively busy world full of content to discover. The game was more quest lead (not a bad thing IMHO as you were never forced into anything) and slightly easier (I'm on the fence here. From a gameplay perspective I would have liked more immersion and less quest markers - however I accept that the majority of players are objective/reward orientated.), but it was also denser ... which is hugely important. I hate the feeling in a video game when you are drifting without anything that you are specifically doing. I can guarantee that the Elder Scrolls as a whole has benefitted from heavily developing the console platforms.

 

- Video game series development is an iterative process. As with mass effect the earlier games started off with more content and less linearity (sp?). This provided the stunning depth, re playability and variation that we all know and love. However this experimentation allows them to cut out or fine tune what they don't need or doesn't quite work, hopefully providing a better experience in the next instalment. No they don't get it right all the time, however like I said: iterative....

 

- In leaving all of that content in, Bethesda would have confused or put off many new comers, and been accused of not innovating enough with gameplay mechanics. In leaving it out, they provide a great core experience which is consistent, brings in lots of new users whilst being respectful of the current ones, and can easily be extended upon. Bethesda cannot tailor a game to everyone's wants and needs. Instead they have provided the most incredible sandbox for us to play in.

 

- Lastly it is worth noting that precisely because this is a modding community you may not get a representative view of things. Many members are here looking for fixes to issues they have with the game. Many more love the game as it is (and not just because they don't know any better).

 

I feel at this point obliged to point out a slight hypocrisy. I'm here - I felt that the magic system in the game was lacking so I originally came looking for a fix. The 3rd party modding community is absolutely fantastic (and enabled by bethesda) and being a fellow of technical enthusiasms I decided to stick around. However I do believe that given the environment they developed the game in, Bethesda deserve credit for by and large an incredible game. It certainly made me change over half of my final year of my CompSci bachelors to AI and Graphics modules...

 

Much <3 to Modders and Beth!